You've spent hours on your CV. Every bullet point polished. Every achievement is listed. Then a recruiter glances at it for three seconds and moves on.
The problem isn't your experience. It's your opening line.
Most CVs Start Wrong
I came across a post by Alex King that put words to something I'd noticed but never articulated: most CVs fail at the first line.
They open with "HR Professional" or "Sales Leader", then a block of text that could describe anyone.
Hiring managers don't read CVs. They scan them. If your first line doesn't answer "why should I care," they won't stick around to find out.
Your CV Is a Funnel
Alex's framing changed how I think about this. A CV isn't a document meant to contain everything about you. It's a funnel. The top matters most.
Your job isn't to explain yourself upfront. It's to pull them in.
That starts with the hook.
What Makes a Good Hook
A strong hook combines three things: the role you're targeting, what makes you different, and proof you deliver.
Alex calls this "Sell in 3s."
Here's what it looks like:
Without a hook:
"Sales Professional"
This tells me nothing. What kind of sales? At what level? With what results?
With a hook:
"Sales Director | Sales Transformation Executive | $50M+ Portfolio Builder"
In under ten words, I know your seniority, your specialty, and your impact. That's enough to keep reading.
Why Scanning Behavior Matters
Think about how you read online. You skim headlines and stop only when something grabs you.
Hiring managers do the same, but across hundreds of applications. When your first line signals "I solve your specific problem," you've bought yourself another ten seconds. Those ten seconds buy you thirty more. That's how CVs get read.
Vague words don't catch the eye. Specifics do.
Examples Worth Borrowing
Marketing Manager:
Marketing Leader | B2B Growth Strategist | 3x Pipeline Generator
Project Manager:
Delivery Lead | Agile Transformation Specialist | Β£2M+ Programmes Delivered
Software Engineer:
Backend Engineer | API & Systems Architect | 10M+ Daily Transactions
HR Professional:
People Director | Culture & Retention Strategist | 40% Turnover Reduction
The pattern: Title. Specialty. Proof.
Building Your Own
Write down the exact role you're targeting using language from actual job postings. Identify what you do better than most. Find a number - revenue, percentage, scale, team size. Combine them. Cut until it's under twelve words.
A Prompt to Speed This Up
I built a prompt that generates tailored hooks from your CV and a job posting. It's written for Claude, but it works with ChatGPT or Gemini.
You are an expert CV strategist and personal branding specialist. Your task is to create 5-10 powerful headline hooks for a CV that will immediately grab a hiring manager's attention.
**INPUTS:**
**[CANDIDATE'S CV]:**
{paste CV here}
**[TARGET JOB POSTING]:**
{paste job posting here}
**YOUR TASK:**
Analyze both documents and generate 5-10 compelling CV headline hooks that:
1. **Match the role** β Mirror the language and title from the job posting
2. **Highlight value** β Pull the candidate's most relevant strengths and achievements
3. **Show outcomes** β Include quantifiable results where possible (revenue, %, scale, impact)
**FORMAT RULES:**
- Use the "Sell in 3s" structure: Title | Specialty/Differentiator | Proof Point
- Keep each hook under 12 words
- Make them short, sharp, and punchy
- Avoid vague buzzwords (e.g., "passionate," "results-driven," "dynamic")
- Each hook should immediately signal: "I solve your specific problem"
**OUTPUT:**
For each hook, provide:
1. The headline itself
2. One sentence explaining why it works for this specific role
Rank them from strongest to weakest based on alignment with the job posting.
Your CV has one job at the top of the funnel: get them to keep reading. Everything else only matters if they make it past line one.
This post was inspired by Alex King's original LinkedIn post.